Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Mad Men

After waiting nearly 2 months and having it pushed up and down in my queue and having to endure 'Long Wait's and 'Short Wait's -- Mad Men, Season 1, Disc 1 finally arrived via Netflix this past weekend.  I eagerly sat down to watch it with The Wife on Sunday morning and we plowed through the first 3 episodes.  And here, ladies and gentlemen, is my one word review: "Meh."

I had heard this show was brilliant from my former improv teacher.  I had heard good things about it on various podcasts and through friends of mine.  After watching the first 3 episodes, I found myself not caring about any of the characters or any of the storylines they developed.

I kept thinking it might get better as the season progresses, but really if a show can't grab you after 3 episodes, I think it's grounds for dismissal.  Think about it - if you watched a 2 1/2 hour movie and thought it was nothing special, would you want to watch the sequel?  So sorry, Mad Men -- it's better we go our separate ways.

1 comment:

m. m. schnee said...

okay--I will admit that the writing is a bit inconsistent.

Some episodes contain such intelligent and moving character-centric scenes,
that the well conceived character subtleties, beautiful lighting and camera shots, colors, and intricate/rad period set pieces all fall to the wayside...But, mostly, it is all of those aforementioned attributes that you have to let mesmerize you to get past some slow-moving character scenes (also first three episodes..).

Some moments hit so hard, you feel you are actually reliving the period itself. They are methodical about researching the decade, and the the political climate and gender role complications are not overdone.

Lastly, the camera draws features from Jon Hamm's chiseled timeless face that make me weak in the knees. :)

Give it another go! (I am about to rewatch season 2, which is my favorite).